There have been questions about whether the Patriots will get the 2010 version of CB Devin McCourty who looked like one of the best young cornerbacks in the league, or the 2011 version who struggled. But McCourty says he’s just “the 2012 McCourty.”

Bengals G Travelle Wharton knows that as a 31-year-old with a torn ACL, his future is in doubt. But he’s trying to stay positive: “I’m just going to attack this surgery as if I was a 21-22 year old,” Wharton said. “I just want to be healthy and attack this thing going into this rehab and surgery with an open mind and get through it. Going down before you even get started is disappointing to anyone. I wanted to come in here and fit into it and be ready to go to work.”

Steelers WR Antonio Brown says he regrets taking a swing at teammate Ike Taylor in practice: “I am a football player, not a UFC fighter or someone trying to fight guys. I could’ve been fined; I could’ve broken my hand — a lot of scenarios could’ve been really bad.”

Texans coach Gary Kubiak liked what he saw of rookie OLB Whitney Mercilus in his preseason debut: “It’s just one game, but let’s just say he’s caught on fast to what we’re doing. He played 41 plays, and he was excellent.”

Said Panthers coach Ron Rivera of fights at training camp, “There’s a lot of sniping that goes on. Those little things shouldn’t matter. We’ve just got to get past that. It’s that time in camp. Let’s be honest, we’re two and a half weeks into it, and they drag a little bit. That’s going to happen. That’s why it is good when you get a chance to play against somebody else.”

Says 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh of two-way player Demarcus Dobbs, “Everybody wants a piece of Dobbs right now, on both sides of the ball and special teams. He is a popular guy with our coaching staff. It’s something that’s being, to the best of our ability, thought out and planned and utilized, that he’s not overused, overstrained and we don’t get diminishing returns.”

With his injury-riddled history, the last thing Run DMC needs are preseason touches! Get him some THUD reps in practice if you must, but limit the real hits until the season is underway. Oakland is in big trouble if this guy goes down again.